We’re going on a big holiday in New Years Eve, so I’ve been busy since Christmas doing some last minute holiday sewing;

I decided I needed a new purse as mine is looking very shabby now, I bought some frames at the Harrogate show which were a bargain at £2, but it was also buy one get one free…I got half a dozen!! They are 6″ square frames, I found a tutorial on Bag’n-telle on how to draft a pattern for a purse, as there are so many different purse frames and shapes it is easier to learn how to make your own pattern. The instructions were really clear and easy to follow.

I chose a furnishing weight linen I got when a curtain fabric shop in Otley was selling off some remnant books, it’s a pretty pale green with pink and cream roses on. I managed to position the pattern with a rose on each side. I decided to stitch a boxed corner to flatten out the base and I lined it with a pink quilting cotton.

I glued it into the frame with H2T glue which sets really quickly and also used some haberdashers twine for the first time stuffed up along the frame, its meant to help fill the frame and therefore help the purse to sit inside the frame, I can’t say I’m convinced but I will try again another time.

My next make was from the scraps left from the purse, I’d seen a tutorial on hand-sanitiser jacket on The Inspired Wren and decided it could be useful for the holiday.

The instructions were clear and easy to follow as usual from Ren, but I did fall out with my elastic! It may be because I could only buy 1/2″ rather than 3/4″ she recommended, but trying to stitch a buttonhole at the end of it was a nightmare, my sewing machine kept chewing it up, I had several attempts, in the end I decided to cover the elastic in a tube of the quilting cotton and zig-zag down the length with the elastic stretched. I then stitched the button hole before I cut the elastic to length. I also put a fabric tab over the end of the elastic as again my sewing machine didn’t like satin-stitching the end! I think my sewing machine was having a sulk last night!

The rest of the jacket went together beautifully and actually as I could only find white or black elastic, I like the covered elastic effect!

I need a new washbag and having made one for my mum just before Christmas, I knew I could make another fairly quickly, I used the same fabric and instructions as here I still find the instructions not easy to follow, this time I placed the handle too low as when it was inside out, stitching the boxed corners, I couldn’t work out where the handle should be along the seam to end up just below the zip, I thought I’d sussed it but obviously not!

I’ve a summery bag with bamboo handles which I made in the spring which will be perfect for the holiday, with the purse inside and the hand wash attached to the handle. Really must start packing…